Quick catch-up review: Dirty Beaches here and there

I have reviewed Dirty Beaches three times over this past year and it's getting boring, for me and for you.

He is amazing every time, I am transfixed and in love every time. I hope he will become the superstar he deserves to be one day!

So there is not much to say about the Teenitus performance by Dirty Beaches, other than that the new material was even better in the darkness of Festsaal than it was in the bright day at London's ATP.

However, while I was at it, I did want to tell you a little about Teenitus Festival since J. and I are big supporters but never gave you a review, even though we both attended, on separate days: I love festivals that are held across several venues of one city. Camden Crawl, Popkomm, ZXZW are just a few examples of such fantastic events. The folks of Teenitus and Festsaal were attempting something similar, with holding the three day event at Festsaal, Monarch, and West Germany. The timing was difficult as spring is so very busy in Berlin and there was competition from high attendency gigs on all nights. But the eclectic mix still worked and we loved walking between the three venues, catching up with friends inbetween. I feel Berlin needs more festivals like this original from Erfurt.

Not that much later, the performing arts festival Foreign Affairs was staged by the folks of Berliner Festspiele. It showcases a lot of theatre, naturally, and some other performing arts. Dirty Beaches was booked to perform for free for two nights, bringing friends with him. We headed over to Haus der Berliner Festspiele on the second night. This was not a regular Dirty Beaches show but a more experimental affair. The intensity of his freeflow guitar performance was enhanced by the atypical audience, which consisted of a theatre crowd that had stumbled into this gig at the bar. People were quite clearly impressed and transfixed and mesmerised. It was intense and amazing to witness how the audience got drawn into this wonderfully stretched solo guitar performance.

Since then, summer has come and will be gone soon and it all seems so long ago. But I tell you the truth when I say that I get shivers down my spine when I think back to those two events. Shivers.

Both pictures of Dirty Beaches were taken by Joel Schalit and we are grateful for this! Check out his excellent online magazine Souciant.com, where you will find more pictures, writings and sound projects by Joel and his collaborators.

London report: ATP I'll Be Your Mirror Fest

If I told you I saw The Locust, King Khan & The Shrines, Dirty Beaches, Anika, K-Holes, Mick Harvey and Yeah Yeah Yeahs all in one day, you'd label me mad. Surely that is a bill that cannot actually happen in real life. Think again.

Half business trip, half pleasure weekend, Gary and I hopped over to North London over the weekend to attend one in a series of All Tomorrow's Parties' events called I'll Be Your Mirror. They are one-day festivals curated by a chosen artist - in this case the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Although ATP have been rumoured to discontinue the series due to poor ticket sales, the events themselves stand out like no others. If the artist has good taste - YYYs: good taste they have - the line-up is unmatchable and in typical ATP fashion, the setting rather special.

'Ally Pally' balcony view

Alexandra Palace is an old exhibition / recreational hall the way they were concepted and built in London during the 19th century. I lived in Crystal Palace for over six years and of course there is no Crystal Palace in Crystal Palace, since the original structure fell victim to a fire many years ago. But when you walk on the palace foundations in Crystal Palace Park, you always imagine the grandeur and splendour that took place there once. Alexandra Palace, still being fully intact, gives you a glimpse of past public recreation. Some features distinctly remind you of church elements (colourful glass panelled round windows, an organ) but at the same time you feel like you are in a palace in a park setting, which you are. To stage a music and film fest here is a magical concept.

Business called us to arrive early at the venue and we immediately started to panic. Half an hour before the first band, Anika, was to go on the smaller of the two stages, the halls of Alexandra Palace were deserted and we would have not been surprised to see tumble weed roll by. However, all was well when I finally made it to Anika's set half way through her stage time and found the room being well filled and people appreciative of Anika's music. I was positively surprised by how well her new band managed to fill the gap left by the absence of Beak>, who have parted ways with Anika recently. Another great performance. I only had time for a few songs but those truly convinced.

Back in the main hall, K-Holes were the poor chosen ones to fill the first slot on the big stage. I was not farmiliar with this band previously and I seriously wonder why. Punky wavey music with a charismatic front woman, a saxophone player and a kick ass band, these young ones are right up my street. The sound in the big, more or less, empty hall was unflattering to the band but I could tell this was a good rock'n'roll group up on that stage. Cannot wait to see them in a small sweaty venue in future!

The two stages were staggered in a way that you could catch at least some of every band you wanted to see - with this line-up that was a godsent. A culture shock awaited us back on the small stage: Big Freedia had his New Orleans bounce hip hop and some ass shaking to go with it in store for the audience, who were up for it. Fantastic stage costumes and an in-your-face attitude worked well for a festival warm up act, though my attention span is clearly too short for 45 minutes of the same beat. Shame on me. Thumbs up for Big Freedia.

Prince Rama's grand entrance

Passing through the main hall, we caught the first couple of Prince Rama's songs. They were walking through the audience with a big veil on and a host of photographers following them around. An entrance if I ever saw one! Musically however, their psychedelic dream dance couldn't match some of the other amazing artists on the bill for me. Or the setting just didn't work for them. Time for some soul gospel rock'n'roll.

Review: Dirty Beaches in the Maze

If you start queuing for something half an hour before the doors open and you know more than half of the people who have turned up will have to go home empty-handed again, would that not make you truly appreciate the event? Well, as it turns out that was not what visitors at yesterday's Maze festival event had in mind.

Alex Zhang Hungtai, aka Dirty Beaches, is what I would call a genius. I might be going out on a limb here but to me, what he creates musically and artistically, is simply a cut above the rest. His sound structures, layered and fuzzed out, with his moody effect vocals may not be new but nobody does that like him. He seems immune to the influence of others and creates his own musical world that appeals to your usual electro-psychedlic crowd as much as fans of experimental noise and ambient alike. The prospect of experiencing West Germany transformed into a labyrinth and the wonderful music of Dirty Beaches together sounded like absolute heaven to me.

So what is the Maze? In a nutshell, it's a cultural event and a sociological experiment in one. The rooms of West Germany have been kitted out with wooden frames that in turn have been transformed into "walls" with the help of colourful string. You can walk through some of them, others will appear as barriers and will make you take alternative routes, like in a maze. Additionally, pieces of art are strewn throughout the labyrinth. The idea is that people have to think more about where they position themselves in the room and that there is an element of surprise thrown into the evening. For example, apparently there is a secret "door" in one of the "walls" but I don't think anyone found this out last night. And you don't really know where or how the band is going to play until the actual performance starts. It is curious but can be daunting at times, too. Nobody is keen on going to the back of the maze in case they get stuck there for the rest of the evening.

Review: Dirty Beaches

I was a Kater Holzig virgin until last Saturday. But wow, I like. My first thought was along the lines of "this is what going to the Moulin Rouge for the first time back in the day must have felt like". What a fun venue with its theatre decor, integrated boat, various quirky buildings. And great sound, too.

Beforehand, I had been struggling to decide on which concert to choose; it was one of those nights again in Berlin. And really, why were Dirty Beaches playing at Kater Holzig on their own, while mere feet away, Gauntlet Hair were performing? This would have been a more than appropriate match. I chose Dirty Beaches in the end simply because that's where my man wanted to go most. You need some criteria on a night like this. And no regrets!

When we entered the circus atmosphere of the sold out Kater Holzig that evening, we knew immediately that the night was going to be special. There was a buzz and an exciting feel to it. I'm guessing that quite a few people had shown up to be seen but I didn't care really. This was fun already. To the bar for some drinks, to the merch stall for a tour-only 7", and the band already came onstage. There is something to be said for no support bands.

In case you are not familiar, Dirty Beaches is essentially one man, Alex Zhang Hungtai, but he has brought a percussionist and a saxophone player with him on this tour. I say percussionist but I'm not sure it's the right description - he basically plays with drum sticks on a drum pad and uses an old school hi-hat in addition. Just for the record: I want a drum machine like his for Christmas. Anyway, the trio worked well, the focus being off Alex a tiny bit but instead distributed among the three performers. But Alex is of course the front guy, walking into the audience to hug people and just generally grabbing the attention like a gospel preacher.

There are certain records that sound like they were just written to have sex to. Sonic Youth's Experimental Jet Set is a very fine example. Dirty Beaches do that for me, too. There is definitely a very rhythmic element to this, distorted vocals and shoegazy melodies that are fun to dance to but could as well be enjoyed with a glass of port in a living room with a view of the city lights. I was very positively surprised of how energetic and mesmerising the live sound was. I didn't want the concert to end; and neither did the rest of the crowd, screaming for more. The band had to return to the stage twice.

This was Dirty Beaches' first performance in Berlin and they couldn't have chosen a better venue, couldn't have received a warmer welcome, couldn't have given a better performance. We went home with a warm feeling in our tummies and a longing for more.

let's get drrty

Dirty Beaches are playing at Kater Holzig tonight. And that's where you'll find me. They managed to fend off stiff competition from Gauntlet Hair (Marie-Antoinette) and Pterodactyl (West Germany). But you can't have it all. Let's get drrty.